Macron and Modi kick-start International Solar Alliance

14 March 2018

Of these, 61 have signed the framework agreement and 32 have also submitted their instruments of ratification.

The group is calling for solar power innovation while cutting costs.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015, the ISA was conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.

March 11 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday at the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), listed out ten action points to bring about a worldwide solar revolution.

"Sun is actually considered as a life nurturer in India", he said at the conference wherein various nation heads and global leaders from across the globe have lauded the role and "exemplary leadership" of PM Modi and the French President Macron. He said better and cheaper solar technology should be easily available to all nations. The ISA's major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilization of investment of over $1 trillion into solar energy by 2030.

During the summit, New Delhi also announced 27 solar projects under the Indian government's credit lines in 15 countries, including Bangladesh, Chad, Congo, Ghana, Mali, Rwanda and Sri Lanka.

Separately, Macron and Modi on Monday inaugurated a 100-megawatt solar power plant built by French firm ENGIE in northern Uttar Pradesh state's Mirzapur area, a key step in meeting the target of 100 gigawatt of electricity in India from solar energy by 2022.

Speaking at the launch of the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) summit, Macron called for "joint duties" towards a "planet that we are sharing" and took a dig at his United States counterpart Donald Trump, who pulled out of the 2015 Paris climate deal. "This is what the alliance of 121 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania shall be doing", Macron said Sunday. "They didn't wait and they didn't stop because some countries decided just to leave the floor and leave the Paris agreement". "Because they decided it was good for them, their children and grandchildren and they made a decision to act and keep acting", he added. A share which could increase with further access to technology and financing. Regulatory aspects as well as standards have to be framed which will expedite adoption of solar solutions, Modi said, adding that consultancy support has to be development for putting up bankable solar projects in developing countries.